Fusion energy breakthrough
Fusion proces: Because of a phenomenon known as quantum tunneling, the hydrogen atoms smash into each other and fuse into helium.
Is Fusion the answer for the new energy world? Scientists create hydrogen plasma, what the sun is made of.
Max Planck researchers finally succeeded in building this breakthrough reactor. And for the first time, the scientists have successfully created hydrogen plasma, the key component to nuclear fusion, and held it in a contained environment.
Inside of a generator called the Wendelstein 7-X (W7X) stellarator, hydrogen is heated up to 180 million degrees Fahrenheit and held in place by 470 tons of superconducting, super-cooled magnets. The temperatures cause the hydrogen gas to turn into plasma, a superheated form of matter that behaves like an electromagnetic cloud.
It’s the largest in the world at 16 meters (52 feet) in diameter and the team behind it hopes to assess the suitability of its design for commercial fusion reactors.
Fusion proces
Because of a phenomenon known as quantum tunneling, the hydrogen atoms smash into each other and fuse into helium. This is an advanced version of an experiment run on the W7X in which helium was changed into plasma and fused last year.
The advancement to convert hydrogen into contained hydrogen plasma is huge because it can produce the most amount of energy using elemental fusion that we known of – leaps and bounds better than helium. This is a great advancement and they are making great headway toward ignition.
The W7X is ready to switch on. Watch the video
